An employee walking along a thermal pipe at the Kamojang geothermalpower plant near Garut, West Java, on March 18. State utility provider Perusahaan Listrik Negara is targeting an additional 135 megawatts ofelectricity from three new geothermal plants. (Reuters Photo/Beawiharta)

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time. …”

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Quality of gas hoses, regulators, still spotty

Chicken noodle hawker Nono turned to his own resourcefulness when he received the gas conversion program’s free kit, which he considered low quality.

The hose was thinly-walled while the regulator was a botched fit with the melon-shaped canister, he said about the kit that he obtained in Jakarta.

He immediately replaced the faulty accessories, keeping only the canister, which he still uses.

“I bought a 1-meter length of hose used for welding for Rp 30,000 [US$ 3.3] and a regulator for Rp 80,000. Then I attached them to the canister myself,” he said.

He added that his kit had held up well since the hose “has not shown signs of wear”.

The government, through local administrations, distributed free kits consisting of a stove, hose, regulator and 3-kilogram LPG canister to low-income households in 2007 to end large subsidies for kerosene as Indonesia’s main fuel for cooking.

As of last month, there have been at least 95 explosions, 22 deaths and 131 injuries and 55 houses damaged in gas explosions in Greater Jakarta and West Java.

The city fire department and disaster agency said that between January and July there were 40 LPG explosions.

Another hawker, Agus, said he received a durable LPG set in Bogor at the beginning of the conversion period.

“I have not changed the original hose since this one’s still good,” he said.

“I only changed the regulator since it wore off after a year of use. I bought a new one for Rp 78,000.”

Worn hoses expand from their original size while worn regulators would not fit properly on the canister’s valve, Agus said.

Agus and Nono said they knew of at least three different hoses on the market, which Nono described as “an orange-colored one, a larger hose in orange too, and a black one”.

The variety of dubious equipment mirrors the botched quality standards in the market that the government supposedly controls.

An updated study conducted by the Consumer Protection Agency showed that all hoses, two-thirds of canister check valves, half of all stoves, 20 percent of regulators and 7 percent of canisters did not meet safety standards.

As a result, many parties have pinned the blame on the government regarding the recent spate of gas canister explosions.

The government reacted by holding a Cabinet meeting with Vice President Boediono. They decided to recall hoses after learning that the products had an estimated life expectancy of two years.

Yet many vendors report that they were unaware the hoses had expiry dates for hoses.

Ati, a gas canister vendor for 15 years in Taman Sari, West Jakarta, said hoses had no expiry dates.

“I have stocked some hoses for a year,” she told The Jakarta Post. “None of my customers have complained about the quality.”

She added that she did not receive any notice from her agent regarding the distribution of hoses by state energy company PT Pertamina.

As previously reported, PT Pertamina planned to distribute supposedly better hoses on Tuesday to its main agents for redistribution to the public. However, the start of the distribution was postponed on the given day.

Currently, most vendors get their hoses and regulators from independent suppliers, who flood the market with goods of various quality and price.

“I offer two types of hoses. The expensive ones cost up to Rp 70,000 while the cheap ones cost around Rp. 50,000,” Ati said. “Regulators cost around Rp 25,000.”

She added that although her goods carried Indonesian National Standards (SNI) labels, prices indicated the item’s durability.

Most of the packaging boast SNI labels printed directly on it or on stickers with the SNI logo and a registration number.

“The cheap items wear out quite quickly, but only a few buyers purchase the hardier expensive ones,” she said.

Arya Rezavidi, a director for technology conservation at the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), said a study by his agency’s found that most of the explosions occurred because of leakages in the canister’s valve.

The agency, according to Arya, believed that the leakage occurred because of a failure during the canister production process.

“As of today, we don’t have a specific study looking into whether such valve leakage was triggered by other reasons, like illegal gas injections,” he said. (gzl)

Health, Safety & Environment

PRECARIOUS: Without proper safety equipment, three workers put the iron frame for a billboard in place near the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Friday. The billboard will display a sign celebrating the city's 480th birthday. JP/Arief Suhardiman

Suppliers

Water Distribution

Flow of Funds, Flow of Water (WB)

Today, fewer than 20% of households in Indonesia have access to piped water, which is inexpensive and still of reasonable quality compared to alternative sources. The situation has deteriorated in recent years, as the sector can no longer rely on central government grants and loans, formerly major sources of funding.Read More ...

FREE CAR WASH: A taxi is sprayed with water from a broken pipe on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta on Sunday. (JP/J. Adiguna)

GIFT FROM EARTH: Almost half of Jakarta's residents use groundwater as their main source of clean water due to a lack of access to treated piped water. Water comes from wells like the one this family in Kampung Bahari, North Jakarta are using (photo above), or mechanic pumps like this one in Kampung Melayu, South Jakarta. (JP/P.J. Leo)

LATEST NEWS: Photographers covering the deteriorating health of former president Soeharto send pictures through a wireless internet facility in front of Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta on Wednesday. The service, which was provided by IT company CISCO, has saved journalists the effort of going back and forth between their offices to submit their work. JP/R. Berto Wedhatama